Late Night Blogging

The night could be better but Tennessee won this evening.

Once again, mazel tov to Jon Stewart.

The Band of Brothers will be in DC tomorrow for the response to swift-boating of Rep. John Murtha.

How did "Paradise Now" ever win a Golden Globe or get nominated for the Oscars? Irit Linor,a top Israeli novelist and screenwriter, wrote an article in today's YNet which I have linked to. If you are upset at the nomination because of the movie's anti-Semitism, than write a complaint here!

A payroll study has proven just how much General Manager Walt Jocketty is worth to the St. Louis Cardinals.

* The ownership is willing to pay what it takes to keep cornerstone players. Albert Pujols will make $14 million this season; Scott Rolen will get $12.5 million; and Jim Edmonds will rake in $12 million. Bill DeWitt and Friends don’t keep all the stars, of course, but they seem willing to keep the right ones.

* There is little waste in the 2006 payroll. Pujols is a bargain. Rolen must fully recover from shoulder surgery to be worth $12.5 million, but the team is counting on that.

Edmonds is a little pricey, but at some point, back-loaded and restructured contracts come due. He has been a value player throughout his tenure here.

* At $8.75 million, Jason Isringhausen is one of the elite earners among relievers. A lot of good, young, cheap closers have emerged in recent years. But at least you know that you’ll get a solid B-plus season from Izzy, barring health issues.

With young relievers, you’re always rolling the dice. Some progress, some don’t. This is a tough place to save money.

* Mark Mulder is a value at $7.7 million; he could command $12 million a season on his next contract. This will be a test for the ownership group. If Mulder wants to stay in St. Louis (and we’re not sure he does), extending his contract will be an enormous challenge.

* Carpenter is a steal for $5 million, plus bonuses. He is worth more than double that in today’s market. Extending Carpenter is another priority for Jocketty and the ownership group.

* At $5.15 million, Jason Marquis is positioned for much bigger money -– say, four years for $28 million to $30 million -– on his first long-term contract. Jocketty must decide whether to pay that or deal Marquis while he still can.

* Suppan is worth his $4 million. A couple of years ago, there is no way Jocketty would have agreed to pay him such a wage. But he has been one of the league’s smartest and most reliable pitchers since coming to St. Louis.

* The $3.5 million for Braden Looper is rich by Cardinals standards for a middle reliever, but Looper offers Izzy insurance. Looper would fill in as closer should something happen to Isringhausen.

* Ricardo Rincon ($1.45 million) is the only other reliever getting notable money. Given the dearth of lefties out there, the price on such hurlers soared this winter. Rincon costs a fraction of what some other lefthanded middlemen went for.

* At $1 million plus bonuses, Ponson could be a monumental steal this season. If he wins 16 or 17 games, he could command the sort of money we suggested for Marquis on his next deal. In the meantime, the Cards would get him at about 15 percent of what he should cost.

If he washes out, the $1 million gambled away won’t be a big hit. (Tino Martinez, now THAT was a big hit.)

* Jocketty knows that he will get solid production from David Eckstein ($3.25 million) and Juan Encarnacion ($3.5 million). They aren’t superstars, but they aren’t getting superstar money, either.

* Junior Spivey was a decent bet at $1.2 million. When healthy, he can drive the ball -– creating options for manager Tony La Russa and the batting order.

* The Cardinals haven’t developed a lot of players via the farm system, but enough graduates have arrived to help Walt make the budget: catcher Yadier Molina ($450,000), reliever Brad Thompson ($400,000), reliever Tyler Johnson ($327,000) and outfielder John Gall ($340,000).

* And how about these bargains: outfielder Larry Bigbie ($900,000), outfielder So Taguchi ($800,000), infielder Deivi Cruz ($800,000), reliever Jeff Nelson ($800,000), catcher Gary Bennett ($800,000), reliever Randy Flores ($420,000), infielder Hector Luna ($420,000) and infielder Aaron Miles ($390,000).

* With promising (and inexpensive, for now) pitchers Anthony Reyes and Adam Wainwright in the wings, Jocketty could move a significant pitcher and clear payroll for additional relief or offensive help as needed.

Cream will play more reunion shows. My guess is a lot of them will be expensive.